Bridging The Gap

Today on Bridging the Gap - Pastor Lloyd Pulley  will  show us what God considers a true friend to be .  Good to be with you today.  Lloyd is about to continue his verse by verse study in the book of First Samuel and we'll consider the value of godly friends.  If asked to name one of the all time great friendships in the Bible, what names come to mind?  Many of us would say Jonathan and David, and rightly so.   Let's take a closer look at these friends in First Samuel chapter eighteen.

 In thinking back to our Sunday School days, there were certain biblical stories our teachers would key in on... Jonah being swallowed by the Great Fish, Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, Noah and the flood, and certainly David and Goliath top the list.  Here on our Thursday broadcast, Lloyd will highlight this timeless story which underscores the greatness and faithfulness of God.  Each of us will face giants in our lives, and we're in a fierce battle!  It's important to know how to handle it with faith.

Today on Bridging the Gap pastor Lloyd Pulley will take a look at the familiar story of David and Goliath. Lloyd will show us that this story is not about building up our courage, but rather it is a story about honoring God whom we love and serve -- even in the face of trouble. And there are some noteworthy aspects of spiritual warfare to observe too.  Let's head over to First Samuel seventeen and get started.

Today we'll return to a story probably familiar to most of you.  When God was looking for the second king of Israel, a 16 year old shepherd boy caught His eye.   Most in that day I'm sure thought this was a poor choice, but God saw a young man who was after His own heart.

Today on Bridging the Gap, Pastor Lloyd Pulley  will show us how to do that and maintain our sanity in the Christian life, even during those periods when it's easy to become frustrated.  We are traveling through First Samuel at the present time, and here on our Monday edition we'll be looking at chapter sixteen.  It's here that the Lord anoints David to be King over Israel. 

This is a very special day for Christians. It's the day we remember the painful death Jesus suffered on the cross of Calvary; a death He willing accepted in order to save us from an eternity separated from Him. It truly was the greatest act of love ever performed in all of human history. 

Compromise can be a wonderful thing in certain contexts. For instance, when two nations have differences that are miles apart, compromise is often needed. And of course, we all know that compromise is often times  important in family matters. There is one case however where compromise is simply worthless and unacceptable. That is in our relationship to God. In every case we're to obey Him.  Today on Bridging the Gap, we'll meet a man who failed to do that.

You might have heard this expression before -  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.   When a person suddenly assumes power or position - it can easily lead them to do things they would never dream of. That was the case with the first King of Israel, Saul. After some time in power he soon began to feel as though he was in control, and not God. 

For the last few weeks we've been looking at First Samuel and today, we return to chapter fourteen. In this passage, we see that King Saul displayed an outward expression of religion, but his heart was totally consumed with self. The same can happen to us if we're not careful.  We'd do well to see where Saul went wrong, so that we don't go down a similar path.

Today on Bridging the Gap, we'll introduce you to a man named Saul, and his story is recorded for us in First Samuel thirteen. As King, Saul should have been looking to God for guidance and seeking to give Him the glory. But instead, he was more concerned with himself and being recognized.

Saul was the first King of Israel, and God provided Him everything that was necessary to be a great King.  But he ended up a terrible failure. He allowed insecurities and bad decision-making to govern his life, and that's a recipe for disaster. God has a calling for us too, but will we try to hide from it, or allow something to keep us from that?

Pastor Lloyd Pulley has framed today's study around chapters eleven and twelve.  Let's say someone lashes out in anger against you, and for no good reason. Or, someone falsely accuses you of something at work, and you end up losing your job as a result! When we're hurt like this, the world would say we have good reason to exact a little revenge.  But pastor Lloyd is going to suggest a much different approach.

The people Israel wanted to make a change. They wanted a king. We might have a reaction to that like, "huh? You already have God as your King"! God was their king for sure, but now they wanted a man to fill those shoes! A big difference and a big mistake to be sure. And as we know, in today's world, people are looking in all the wrong places for a King as well.

You've no doubt heard the timeless truth, "Don't judge a book by its cover."  Judging things by their outside appearance is something we often do, instead of learning what's on the inside.  But to judge a book - you have to read it - and that takes time.  The same is true with a person. It takes more than a first impression. Today on Bridging the Gap, we take a second look at Israel's first king.

To agree with God we must know what He thinks about things.  We're in First Samuel chapter seven, and a message titled, "Steps to Revival and Victory".

On Today's broadcast, we'll see God's people waiting twenty years before repenting.  Now that's a long time! If we're wise we won't wait and waste the years God has given us!

Spiritually speaking, if the symptoms of our condition persist, It has to be God's mercy, designed to push us toward treatment and healing.  Find your place in First Samuel six as we bring you Bridging the Gap.

When the Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant - God did something about it – and there are quite a few takeaway lessons we don't want you to miss. Join us in First Samuel chapter five.

Pastor Lloyd has an eye on First Samuel four today.  God is about to remove His presence from the nation of Israel.  Sounds severe doesn't it, and it is!  But what would lead the Lord to do this?  We'll look into that together and learn that it comes down to misguided faith.

When God makes a promise, you can be sure He'll keep His Word.  And in First Samuel four, God is about to come through on a promise He made in chapter three.  He's going to judge Eli and deal with his two sons.